What Easter Means to Me

This is a re-post from a few Easter's ago. My feeling and testimony is the same, but stronger.

My heart is full. My cup runneth over. I woke up this morning hearing the wind rustle through the blooming trees and the birds chirping in their nests. It is Easter. What a special day!

It is this day 2011 years ago that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walked out of the garden tomb and broke the bands of death, that we may all live again. Friends, I hope you know that I have a firm testimony of the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ. His is the Savior of all mankind. He came to this earth for a special purpose. He came to ransom us from the fall, to provide a way that we could repent and overcome our own imperfections that we might live again with God the Father. He suffered the pains of sin in Gethsemane, alone, bleeding from every pore. He was judged of men, scoffed and scorned, though he had done no wrong. He was nailed to the cross, suffering even more. And when it was enough, he died. For three days his body lay in a mountain tomb. However, that would not be its final resting place. As angels rolled the stone of the tomb back, he arose, resurrected and glorified. He lives! With His resurrection he broke the bands of death, that in due time all men and women may rise again. That weekend 2011 years ago, Jesus Christ won the battle over sin and death, and provided a way in which we can overcome them too.

Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind, the Redeemer of the world, the Son of the living God. He lives and loves us. May we all, accept the gift that he has given. May we repent of our weaknesses and sins and come unto Him that we may live with the Father and the Son again.

This is my testimony and I bear it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Something Sweet

 This is what happens when I finish my finals, its Easter weekend, and I am scheduled to teach Relief Society.

 CUPCAKES! 

I wanted to make something sweet for my Relief Society sisters since it was such a special Sunday. Easter is my favorite! Little did I know that in Sacrament meeting they would announce that they are dissolving our ward and that all us young marrieds would be asked to go to the local family wards. This was our last Sunday and my lesson was the last one that they would hear in that ward. Talk about pressure! My lesson went OK and I think these cupcakes turned out cute. Everyone seemed to enjoy them! 

I made 40 of them and had a bit of fun with food coloring and sprinkles!

I love this cute bunny and the Easter egg sprinkles.

Hope you had a SWEET Easter too!

I'm a Lucky girl.

Finals tally: 2 papers done, 3 tests taken, 1 test to go.

Yesterday I had my last scheduled final. It was in my favorite class--immigration law. It was three hours of non-stop crazy typing and I loved it. All I have to say is I better get a good grade in that class. After the final I came home and fell asleep for 3 hours. It was an afternoon final, which  means I feel asleep around 6pm. I was so tired. After 4 nights of 4 hours of sleep each, my body just crashed. I don't know how new moms do it! Anyways, I woke up at 9pm, completely confused, watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds, then went back to sleep and didn't wake up until 9:30am this morning. It was amazing! I had forgotten what it was like to get more than 6 hours of sleep at a time. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I just have to finish this take home final and I'll be free!

Oh, and want to know why I am such a lucky girl? Because my husband knows how to make me happy when I am "a train wreck," as he calls it. He brought home this lovely box of my favorite Lucky Charms and said I didn't have to share. What a sweetheart. I love that man.

Monday April 18, 2011 12:54 a.m.

See that beauty? It's my final research paper for my negotiation class that I had absolutely no time to write. Friday night I had no idea what my thesis would be. My research was hardly started. I hadn't written one single word. Furthermore, I didn't have all weekend to work on it as I have two other finals to study for. So, the fact that it is complete, that I feel that it is an actually decent paper, and  that it's ready to turn in hours before its 5:00pm deadline later this evening is nothing short of a miracle. In fact, Friday night I prayed that Heavenly Father would give me the strength and ability to get everything done I needed to this weekend. I must say, he has answered my prayer.

Last night I studied by candle light. . .

. . . not because I am terribly romantic like that, but because our power went ka-putz AFTER the electric company visited our apartment complex. True, there were 60mph winds and I did hear a huge explosion, so there was probably good reason they turned off our power. I just wished it had happened on a night where my husband wasn't in class and I didn't have a crazy amount of studying to do. It would've been nice to snuggle with my love by candle light. 

Alas, I studied professional ethics and now my eyes hurt from reading in dim light. Also, I learned that when you burn multiple (read 8) scented candles of differing varieties at the same time, you should be prepared for a fragrance overload headache.  

Yellow

Val and I getting ready to run the Rex Lee a few weeks ago Yes, we did sport those fantastic yellow headbands the whole time. How cool are we? 

Val kicked some sweet buns of love (as my mother would say) with an awesome time. My biggest accomplishment is that my knee didn't kill me afterward. You know what that means. More running is in my future! Hooray!

Ok, back to studying. As you can tell, my iPhone is a big distraction. Guess I need to lock it in the other room  for the next week or so.  

Finals Must Haves

Alright! It's that time of year again--the time of year where I study my brains out, get no sleep, blog too much, and consume way too much Diet Coke. 

FINALS!

Just thought I'd share some "must haves" for all of you who might wonder what a law student needs to get through these awfully stressful weeks.

Exhibit #1: Laptop with side monitor. All your notes will not fit into one screen, thus the need for two. 

Exhibit #2: An awesome study chair. Your rear end will be in that chair for hours on end, so make sure it's comfy! (Thanks to my hunky husband who let me splurge on this beauty!)

Exhibit #3: Slippers. Let's be honest, these are a must have no matter what time of year it is.

Exhibit #4: Diet Coke with Lime to get you through. Really, any caffeinated soda will do. Some prefer Red Bull, but it makes my heart race and that scares me. Be prepared to consume your beverage of choice  from 9am until you finally pass out at night. If you start showing the signs of overdose (jitters, racing heart, etc.) you might want to hold off for a few hours until you start lagging again. 

Well, I'm all set. Notice I didn't mention motivation, although that probably is an essential too. I better go look for some. 

Nerts

I have to admit, I have an addiction. It's called NERTS on my iPhone. I just can't help it. I was first introduced to this game 2 years ago at a family reunion. As you probably guessed, I really stank at it, like I do most card games. So, when I saw this FREE app, I thought I'd give it a try, hoping that maybe next time I play with the family I wouldn't lose so badly if  practiced a little. That was the start of the addiction. Pretty soon, Joe was threatening to delete it off my phone because he said he was worried about me. I won't tell you how many hours I think I've played. It's so sad. 

Last night we played games with our good friends the Hulmes and the Steeles. Guess what we played. Guess who won!! 

Yeah, it was sweet. 

Now this is what I call March Madness

Before I became Mrs. Flager, I didn't know that much about sports. However, being married to the biggest sports nut I know has quickly changed that. This is the first time I have EVER filled out a March Madness bracket. Heck, last year I didn't even know what March Madness was. (It's the college basketball playoffs for those of you like me.) 

Anyway, the law school has a bracket pool and I thought it would be fun for Joe and I to fill out some brackets and see how we did against each other and the school. I am Flager1 and he is Flager2. Will you look at that! I'm beating him! Now, that may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but believe me, it is. Joe is so good at everything, I feel like I can hardly keep up. So when a moment like this occurs, I have to glory in in it!

By the way, can you believe that I am third out of everyone in the law school? Neither can I.

P.S. I am SO proud of my BYU cougars making it to the Sweet 16! Go Cougars!

Happy March everyone!

(Disclaimer: Joe may have helped me a bit in putting the bracket together. But, I assure you, it is my own picks that are putting me in the lead. )

I Wish . . .

. . . I had time. Time to read all my homework assignments, do all my legal research, finish all my class outlines, do all my practice questions, and write my research paper. Time to get a full 8 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Time to blog, write letters to old friends, craft, bake, cook new things, decorate my house, have all my laundry actually clean, folded, and put away. Time to have a long chat on the phone with my mother, sister, grandma, aunt, mission companion, mother-in-law, or friend. Time to clean out my coat closet, linen closet, under my kitchen sink, and our extra bedroom/office. Time to write meaningful letters to my missionary brothers and my other sweet siblings. Time to practice playing guitar, to paint, to do yoga, and hike. Time to go to the gym, shop for fun, and dance in my kitchen. Time to really enjoy a good novel. Time to travel to Moab, Zions, California, Oregon, and New York City. Time to lay in bed and cuddle with my husband until I was ready to get up (which probably wouldn't be until at least 2 p.m.). Time to play Ticket to Ride, Settlers, or Dominion. Time to watch all the March Madness games and see that my bracket is actually beating my husband's. Time to have a picnic, see a play, or go to the hot springs nearby.

Time, time, time.

Sometimes I wish we had a 36 hour day, but then I think, even that wouldn't be enough.